


In His Arms I Must Stay

by simplykayley



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: (kind of), Canon Rewrite, Capture, Enemies to Lovers, Gen, Historical, Historical Inaccuracy, Love/Hate, M/M, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Homophobia, Prisoner of War, Revolutionary War, Rewrite, Spies & Secret Agents, Stockholm Syndrome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28072602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplykayley/pseuds/simplykayley
Summary: When Ben is taken captive by John André himself he must do everything he can to stay alive but the longer he must stay in the man's grasp the longer the line that must never be crossed begins to fade.(This is a rewrite and repost of one of my previous fanfictions.)
Relationships: John André/Benjamin Tallmadge
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An AU where there is no Peggy/André, at least not seriously and Ben doesn't escape from Gamble when he is captured but is given over to André himself.

Ben woke suddenly with a start and gasped in pain, he began to reach around with a shaking hand only for it to be tugged back down to the bed by a rope. He blinked, once, twice. 

Everything began to slowly come back to him and he limply tugged on the  appendage tying him to the frame. His breathing picked up as he began to tug harder with no reward, recalling more and more. His mission, Gamble, his capture. 

Footsteps cracked down the hallway like gunshots. Boom, boom, boom. He stilled as the door creaked open ominously. Suddenly he was face to face with Captain John Simcoe. 

The sight of the man’s sinister expression sent Ben into a flurry of movement, tugging fearfully on his bindings as the man’s smile twitched higher. All he could do was snarl wickedly at the Captain as he moved into the room and closer to him. He felt like nothing more than a trapped animal, his fate already decided but not yet ready. 

Simcoe stopped and stared down at him from the foot of the bed. "Where did all those well manners go, Major?" He asked condescendingly, blinking with wide eyes, giving off the impression of a confused child. 

"Oh! Pardon me Major, how dull I must seem, I suppose being captured as a spy would do that to someone."

Simcoe moved in, pressing a finger to Ben's cheek as he quickly tried to recoil as far away as possible, his face an expression of pure disgust. He lifted it up to his face to examine it before clicking his tongue with an expression of disappointment. The sting from a cut on his cheek suddenly flared, previously unnoticed, and Ben hissed. 

"I wanted to shoot you in your pretty little head as soon as I heard of your..." He stopped for a moment, thinking, before meeting Ben's eyes with a grin. “arrival. However, André said they might have some use of you. Although, I personally don't see much more than a somewhat attractive face, you of all people should know about the orders of a superior officer." He said with a final click of his tongue, wiping his finger off on his pants.

"Yes, something you still seem to be learning about, Captain." A voice that neither noticed called from the door. Ben strained his head to the side to see the unfamiliar person. 

John André stared back at him from the doorway, two raised eyebrows and an amused smirk on his lips.


	2. 2.

There was no chance for escape, Ben knew this deep down, however that did not stop him from darting his eyes back and forth across the rather large room in search for a means of escape. Feeling like a little, trapped jackrabbit he bit down on his tongue as his heart beated frantically in his chest. 

"Major Tallmadge," André greeted simply. Ben couldn’t even begin to make his mouth form the simplest of words. "I didn't think I'd ever had the pleasure of meeting you. You are such a slippery creature to capture for any type of meeting, so you must understand my delight when I heard of Lieutenant Gamble's report of your...arrival to Philadelphia." He said in false delight as he moved closer to the bed, shooting some kind of look towards Simcoe. 

André seemed to take notice of the way that he was tugging on his binds.

"I don't remember hearing about the Major causing any damage on his way here so I do not see why he must be tied up like some common thief." He said and both Simcoe and Ben's eyes snapped up to him.

"Sir, he is a known rebel spy and soldier. The only reason he is here is that he was caught off guard for just a moment. He would kill you without a thought to get back to his precious army, and Commander." Simcoe argued, spitting out the words as if they burned his tongue but André just raised his eyebrows, producing a knife from his side.

"Nothing a locked door and a few guards can't help." André smiled sharply and Ben watched in amazement as the binds were cut away. A brief mix of hope and anxiety swirled in his stomach, the knife that was still hidden in his boot seemed to burn against his skin. 

"I would appreciate it if you could leave us, Captain," André said pointedly. They both heard the command in his voice as he looked over his shoulder at the other man. André was the image of the perfect British soldier, dark hair was pulled away from his face, his redcoat was utterly spotless and not even a button was out of place. 

Their eyes remained locked for a few moments before Simcoe turned towards the door, shaking his head. It would be André’s own fault if his throat got cut by the spy. 

"Now, Major Tallmadge-" André started, turning back towards him when the door finally slammed shut and Simcoe’s footsteps echoed down the hall. However, he cut himself off, barely catching the wrist that came at his throat with a small boot knife that no one had found on him. André’s lips twisted up in amusement. 

Ben fought wildly against André’s tight grasp, his teeth gnashing together. Finally, he cried out and dropped the weapon to the ground when André suddenly twisted his wrist to the side, producing a crack and pop. Pulling his wrist up to his chest, Ben glared up at the other man. He watched as André kicked the knife to the other side of the room.

“Well, we won’t tell Simcoe about that.” André said calmly. 

"I'll never talk." Ben spat, meeting André’s calm, blue eyes with ones aflame with anger. "Your army's occupation and oppression should be a crime. Leave my country, you bastards." He ranted to the dark haired man. He just smiled sadly at him as if he was a child throwing a partially sad tantrum.

"I've heard a lot about you." André started, ignoring Ben's statement as he sat at a desk in the corner of the room and turned around again, not getting too close this time around. "Patriotic to the core, as I can tell, smart, proud, kind to the people you love." He said with an amused smile before frowning at Ben. "But none of that will matter when you are hanging as a treasonous spy. I can try and help you if you just talk to me. I may be able to save your life. I am sure that there are people out there that you don’t want to leave behind." He said. Ben tried to ignore the man in favor of looking through the window to try and get a general idea of where he could be in the city.

"So are you just going to keep me captive here until you can find out what to do with me?" He finally asked, calmed down. He put his feet on the ground as he turned to stand up. "Where am I even? I’ve never seen such a homely prison before, Major."

André stared unnervingly into his eyes for a moment in a way before he must have decided that it wouldn't be much of a threat to tell Ben where he was being kept. It was unlikely that he would be leaving soon.

"You are being held within my house, Major Tallmadge."


	3. 3.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He might be ensnared but his fight was far from over. He was in the literal heart of the beast after all.

John wasn't completely sure what he expected when he heard of Benjamin Tallmadge for the first time all those months ago. He was fairly certain though it hadn't been this man in front of him.

Benjamin Tallmadge didn’t even look to be 30. His dirty blond hair was still caked and flattened with mud, halfway pulled out of a braid and in his face. He didn’t look to be an ugly lad under the dirt and blood but it gave him a feral impression. The way the man snapped his teeth and glared at him in anger with bright blue eyes didn’t help to diminish the image either. The civilian clothes that he had been caught in by Gamble were now hanging off parts of his body where they had been ripped or torn from the journey to Philadelphia.

"Any information that you can provide, anything at all could help you. We were unsuccessful in finding anything on you while you were out." He tried to tell the boy. However, he wasn’t entirely surprised when his eyes full of fire fixed on him again in a glare. It would seem that his attempts at assurance would not calm the young man down at all.

"I hope God damns you to hell, John André!" Tallmadge screamed at him, looking ready to throw himself across the room as his pale face grew red with rage. John winced, sure the people walking on the street below could hear him. He momentarily regretted bringing Tallmadge to his home in the middle of the city but he couldn't be offended by the young man. People with nooses hanging around their necks turned into the most feral of creatures. 

"That's not the first time I've been told that, but I don't think I've ever heard it said with so much spirit." He said, amusement creeping into his tone. 

Tallmadge huffed and began to walk back and forth across the room, frustration clear. John’s eyes followed the man as he went back and forth, back and forth, playing the part of a trapped animal wonderfully. He usually wasn’t one to believe in stories but suddenly he wouldn’t put it past the younger man to try and jump from the window in the middle of Philadelphia for a chance to get back to his precious General and spy ring.

"I would hope your visit would be one of brevity, I can assure you, I won’t be telling you  _ anything _ ." Tallmadge snapped at him finally and he took that as his cue to leave the man to himself for a bit. He was sure it would be what he wanted. To settle himself to his fate.

He stopped at the door for a brief moment before facing the man once again and bowing. "I know you must be in shock Major, so I shall leave you to yourself. I shall have food brought up to you soon for dinner. It has been a delight putting a face to a name." He said politely, taking in the others flabbergasted expression before he finally left. 

Major Tallmadge’s snarl followed him down the hall as he clicked the lock into place.

_

A quick look around the room revealed a fresh basin of water in the corner and a mirror so that he could presumably wash up. Ben knew he must look the proper part of a mess.

He walked over to it slowly as if a Redcoat would jump out of the mirror and go at his neck with a knife. He cringed when he caught a glimpse of his dirty face. Slowly, he began to run his fingers through what was left of his braid before letting his hair fall around his shoulders. He sighed and got to work on his image, or whatever tatters were left of it.

He left his torn coat folded on a chair and dipped a rag in the lukewarm water left in the basin before he started to wipe at his cheeks. He watched as the blood, sweat, and dirt clouded the water. He washed until all he could see was the bruise high on his cheek or the cut on his forehead that had dried with blood. He looked more or less the same as the last time he had seen himself in a mirror.

He blinked owlishly at his image and for a moment imagined that he could hear Simcoe and André talking of him downstairs, thinking up ways to break him down to get the information inside of his head now that his fight was through.

He smiled at himself as if Caleb had just told him a terribly funny joke that he remembered from his days on the sea.

His fight was far from over. A spy’s fight will never be over. André would soon find that out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Ben might seem a bit OOC but I 100% think that he would throw down if he was in a situation like this one. And I was also trying to get across the fact that Ben would have been a young (early 20s) Major just captured as a spy, so he's going to be scared but fighting.

**Author's Note:**

> I have been meaning to go back to this fic and rewrite the whole thing and finish it but because of life and everything else I just haven't put in the effort to so I would just really like to dedicate this whole thing to Torstein_Heikkinen for being the kindest person ever and pushing to me to go back over this whole trash fire and making it better. You are the best!


End file.
